System and associated method of integrating subscriber based traffic navigation and hospitality data with a global positioning system

ABSTRACT

A global positioning system (GPS) is provided for displaying static cartographical data in accordance with a GPS signal and integrating dynamically updated data during display. The GPS system includes a receiver responsive to the global positioning signal. The receiver has a first communication module responsive to a signal of a content provider. The signal of the content provider defines dynamic content. The receiver has a data processor for integrating the dynamic content with the static cartographical data. A display device of the GPS system displays the integrated cartographical data and dynamic content. In this way, the dynamic content is provided to the global positioning system to alert an operator of traffic patterns and hospitality venues in relation to displayed static cartographical data.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a portable navigation device, and, moreparticularly, to a global positioning system (GPS) device adapted toreceive regional traffic navigation and hospitality data for integrationwith GPS data.

Global positioning systems are increasingly utilized as a source ofnavigation information. Although initially designed for military use,orbiting satellites transmitting GPS signals have been widely used incommercial navigation systems for determining and displaying a receiverlocation.

A GPS receiver calculates a position based on detected GPS signals. TheGPS receiver “triangulates” its own position by obtaining the GPSsignals from a set of satellites, typically three of four orbitingsatellites. The position of the receiver is determined in the form of ageographic position—longitude and latitude—to, for most receivers,within meters of an actual location. Typically, the receiver is equippedwith a display screen that shows a map (i.e., cartographical position),thus, position can be displayed on the generated map. If a signal from afourth satellite can be received, the receiver can determine thealtitude of the GPS receiver as well as the geographic position. If thereceiver is moving, the receiver may also calculate speed and directionof travel, yielding estimated times of arrival to specifieddestinations.

GPS receivers are increasingly being employed in vehicles as a source ofnavigational information. Typically, a GPS receiver serves to guide avehicle operator to/from a destination, the GPS receiver providinglatitudinal and longitudinal coordinates and relative location withrespect to a desired destination. Some automobile manufacturers providea further concierge service such as ONSTAR® to use in conjunction withthe GPS receiver for identifying area attractions, alternative routes,detours and the like.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A system and associated method of integrating subscriber based trafficnavigation and hospitality data is provided in which dynamic contentsuch as that typically provided by a concierge service is integratedwith the functionality of a GPS receiver.

The present invention provides a global positioning system (GPS) fordisplaying static cartographical data in accordance with a GPS signaland integrating dynamically updated data during display. The GPS systemincludes a receiver responsive to GPS signals. The receiver has a firstcommunication module responsive to a signal of a content provider. Thesignal of the content provider defines dynamic content. The receiver hasa data processor for integrating the dynamic content with the staticcartographical data. A display device of the GPS system displays theintegrated cartographical data and dynamic content. In this way, thedynamic content is provided to the global positioning system to alert anoperator of traffic patterns and hospitality venues in relation todisplayed static cartographical data.

A method in accordance with the present invention, receives a globalpositioning signal from a global positioning signal source forindicating a cartographical location of the GPS display system. Adynamic content signal is also received from a content provider. Localcontent data is filtered from the dynamic content data of the dynamiccontent signal. The dynamic local content is then integrated with thecartographical location and displayed by a display device of the GPSsystem. In this way, the dynamic local content is provided to the GPSdisplay system to dynamically inform an operator of traffic patterns andhospitality venues along static cartographical routes of the GPS displaysystem.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the presentinvention will become more fully apparent from the followingdescription, appended claims, and accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a global positioning system (GPS) inaccordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a high level block diagram of the receiver of FIG. 1 inaccordance with an exemplary embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 3 is a front view of the receiver in accordance with an exemplaryembodiment of the invention FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of the receiver display in accordance with anexemplary embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 5 is a flow chart showing the process of integrating dynamiccontent with cartographical data in accordance with an exemplaryembodiment of the invention; and

FIG. 6 is a flow chart showing the process of accessing dynamic contentwith the display of FIG. 4.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Certain terminology used in the following description is for convenienceonly and is not limiting. The term “dynamic content” refers to contentprovided to the global positioning system which is not utilized toidentify a location of the receiver, rather to provide informationregarding the cartographical area pertaining to the location of thereceiver. Thus, without limitation, dynamic content may include one ormore of the following illustrative examples, traffic patterns,construction information, bridge openings, restaurant/hotel informationand the like. The term “integration” or “integrating” as used hereinrefers to the reception of the dynamic content by the receiver, thedynamic content may be provided to the operator of the receiver asvisible or audible indicia or stored in memory for later use. In thedrawings, the same reference numerals are used for designating the sameelements throughout the several figures.

The present invention provides a global positioning receiver andassociated method of integrating dynamic content with cartographicaldata of a display device coupled to the global positioning receiver.

The global positioning system (GPS) is provided for displaying staticcartographical data in accordance with a GPS signal and integratingdynamically updated data during display. The GPS system includes areceiver responsive to the global positioning signal. The receiver has afirst communication module responsive to a signal of a content provider.The signal of the content provider defines dynamic content. The receiverhas a data processor for integrating the dynamic content with the staticcartographical data. A display device of the GPS system displays theintegrated cartographical data and dynamic content. In this way, thedynamic content is provided to the global positioning system to alert anoperator of traffic patterns and hospitality venues in relation todisplayed static cartographical data.

A GPS system according to the present invention may be implemented as astand-alone product or may be integrated with an audio/videoentertainment device. For the sake of simplicity, elements of theintegrated audio/video entertainment device that are not used by the GPSsystem are not described.

I. Main Components

Referring now more specifically to the drawings, FIG. 1 shows aperspective view of an exemplary embodiment GPS system 2 in accordancewith the present invention. The GPS system 2 includes an integratedreceiver 20, a dynamic content provider transmission source 10,hereinafter “DCPTS”, a satellite signal source 15, and a vehicle 5. Inan exemplary embodiment, the receiver 20 is operably linked to aninstrument panel of a vehicle 5 (i.e., vehicle electrical system notshown) for receiving a power signal. Although the receiver 20 isdescribed in terms of a vehicular/mobile system, those skilled in theart will recognize that the present invention is generally applicable toany receiver. Similarly, the integrated receiver 20 may be portable andpowered by alternative power sources such as a battery cell, solarcollector or the like.

In the exemplary embodiment, the integrated receiver 20 is a portablereceiver which is releasably mounted (not shown) in vehicle 5. Thoseskilled in the art will recognize that the receiver 20 can be releasablymounted to vehicle 5 in a variety of known manners, the selection ofwhich is a matter of design choice.

The receiver 20 is provided for integrating the dynamic content of DCPTS10 with cartographical data. GPS signals are transmitted to Integratedreceiver 20 by satellite signal source 15. The Integrated receiver 20 isresponsive to the GPS signals of the satellite signal source 15 foridentifying latitudinal and longitudinal coordinates corresponding tothe position of the Integrated receiver 20. Those skilled in the artwill recognize that GPS receivers are well known in the art, as such thedescription of determining latitudinal and longitudinal coordinates fromGPS signals is omitted for the sake of brevity.

In the exemplary embodiment of the invention, the DCPTS 10 is providedto transmit a dynamic content signal to the Integrated receiver 20. TheIntegrated receiver 20 is responsive to the dynamic content signal fordynamically updating a display of receiver 20 for integrating thedynamic content with displayed cartographical data, or storing thedynamic content with cartographical data in a memory thereof for use bythe display. In the exemplary embodiment, the dynamic content of DCPTS10 may be provided on a subscription basis to operators of INTEGRATEDreceivers 20 in accordance with the present invention.

In use, the Integrated receiver 20 identifies latitudinal andlongitudinal coordinates from signals of the satellite signal source 15and determines a corresponding cartographical location of thecoordinates based on mapping information stored in a memory of thereceiver 20. The cartographical location is presented to the operatorwith integrated dynamic content. In the exemplary embodiment, receiver20 includes a display device (described herein) for presenting a visualmap of the cartographical location along with visible and/or audibleindicia of corresponding dynamic content.

While the satellite signal source 15 of the exemplary embodiment isdescribed as a set of global positioning satellites, those skilled inthe art will recognize that the present invention is applicable to landoriginated positioning signals as well.

The DCPTS 10 is a transmitter for providing dynamic content to thereceiver 20. In the exemplary embodiment, the DCPTS 10 may be an RFtransmission source such as that utilized by cellular telephones,however the present invention is not limited to any specific carriertype/frequency. For example, in an alternative embodiment a satelliteradio signal may be used where the DCPTS 10 is an orbiting satellite ora special communication authorization (SCA) signal may be used where theDCPTS 10 is an FM radio station. The DCPTS 10 provides dynamic contentfor a plurality of geographical locations from a single DCPTS 10. Thoseskilled in the art will recognize that the DCPTS 10 may be a pluralityof DCPTS transmission sources each dedicated to a specific geographicallocation.

The DCPTS 10 in the exemplary embodiment simultaneously transmitsdynamic content for a plurality of geographical regions to theIntegrated receiver 20. The Integrated receiver 20 includes a dynamiccontent filter to select the dynamic content which corresponds to itspresent location. The filter functionality may be employed by hardwareor software components of receiver 20 (not shown).

In this way, the global positioning system 2 of the exemplary embodimentenables the display of static cartographical data having integrateddynamic content.

II. Integrated Receiver

Referring now to FIG. 2, in an exemplary embodiment, Integrated receiver20 may include, for example, GPS signal module 24, dynamic contentreceiver 28, display 32, analog to digital (A/D) converter 40, dataprocessor, 38, speech recognition module (SRM) 29, control interface 36,amplifier 42, local power supply 26, memory 34, microphone 45 andspeaker 44.

The GPS signal module 24 of Integrated receiver 20 is provided fordetecting GPS signals of GPS signal source 15. As discussed above, theGPS signal module 24 receives a GPS signal for identifying thelatitudinal and longitudinal coordinates of the Integrated receiver 20.The data processor, in accordance with a corresponding instruction set,determines a cartographical location of the identified coordinates. Forexample, the data processor selects a cartographical location fromcartographical data stored in memory 34 in accordance with theidentified latitudinal and longitudinal coordinates. As the correlationof coordinates to cartographical data is well known in the art, furtherdiscussion is omitted for the purposes of brevity. In this way, the GPSsignal module detects coordinates, the data processor 38 correlates thecoordinates to a cartographical location in memory 34, and theIntegrated receiver 20 provides the cartographical location to display32 for navigational use by an operator.

The data processor 38 communicates control information with the A/Dconverter 40, GPS signal module 24, speech recognition module (SRM) 29,dynamic content receiver 28, display 32, control interface 36, amplifier42, and memory 34 as indicated via the solid lines. The data processor38 includes an instruction set for identifying a cartographical regioncorresponding to a detected GPS signal and identifiable latitudinal andlongitudinal coordinates. The data processor 38 maps a cartographicallocation to display 32 corresponding to the latitudinal and longitudinalcoordinates from cartographical data stored in memory 34. Similarly, thedata processor 38 may, for example, determine, responsive to an operatorselection via control interface 36, or display 32 which transmitted orstored dynamic content is to be accessed.

Microphone 45 is provided for detecting an audio input sound to receiver20. In an exemplary embodiment, the microphone 45 provides spokenutterances from an operator to speech recognition module 29 (SRM) forconverting the spoken utterances into control parameters for use by dataprocessor 38 or as an alternative means to access dynamic content asdescribed herein.

The SRM module 29 of the exemplary embodiment is responsive to an inputaudio signal for dynamically converting the audio data into recognizedcontrol parameters. Generally, the microphone 45 provides audio signalsto an input port of the SRM module 29 for processing. The SRM module 29performs signal filtering to identify audio segments including speechcomponents and separate the speech segments from the audio input. TheSRM module 29 then processes the speech signals through filters toidentify various components which are applied to speech models, such ashidden Markov models to convert the audio input into “phonemes” orspeech parts. The phonemes are sent to a word matcher of SRM module 29,which selects a matching word from a word database stored in the memory34 based on the identified phonemes of each word. The selected databaseword is then output from the SRM 29 for conversion to a controlparameter by data processor 38. Data processor 38 or a dedicated paneldisplay process or (not shown) may also be used for displaying textcorresponding to the control parameters on the display 32. The exemplaryword database of SRM module 29 may include a context module thatdistinguishes between homophones such as “to,” “too” and “two.” Anexemplary SRM module 29 suitable for use with the present invention isdescribed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,822,728 entitled MULTISTAGE WORD RECOGNIZERBASED ON RELIABLY DETECTED PHONEME SIMILARITY REGIONS.

The memory 34 of Integrated receiver 20 is provided for storing dynamiccontent from DCPTS 10, storing static cartographical content, and systemoperational data such as lookup tables and the like. In the exemplaryembodiment of FIG. 2, the memory 34 may be a flash memory. In theexemplary embodiment, a portion of memory 34 is reserved for use by thedata processor 38 to enable touch screen display functionality, menusystems and SRM database/processing data. In this embodiment,cartographical content is preloaded into the memory 34 upon manufacture.Changes to the cartographical data can be effected via a periodicrefresh signal transmitted along with the dynamic content of DCPTS 10.For example, a cartographical refresh signal may be transmitted daily orweekly to include new routes, street names, etc. Dynamic contentrelating to hospitality venues, long term construction projects,scheduled bridge openings, rush hour traffic patterns, and the like maybe stored in a cache of memory 34 for repeated use. The cached dynamiccontent would be stored for cartographical regions within a home area ora frequented destination, being updated only when necessary. Of course,cartographical or dynamic content data also may be exchanged/updatedwith memory 34 via an interface (not shown)

In the exemplary embodiment, speaker 44 of receiver 20 is provided forgiving audible indications of GPS signals to an operator, or foralerting an operator of approaching hospitality venues. In the exemplaryembodiment, an operator is alerted to a desired hospitality venue whencoming within a predetermined distance of the desired venue. Forexample, an audible tone or spoken message may be given to operatorsapproaching a known destination/hospitality venue or the operator may begiven audible directions to the same. In the exemplary embodiment, thespoken message may be an advertisement provided to the DCPTS 10 by thehospitality venue for use by the system 2. The operator may enable ordisable this function via a filter of receiver 20, or specificallyidentify types of venues which will produce an alert through a menu ofthe touch screen display 32. For example, where the operator of avehicle 5 employs a SPEED PASS® to purchase gasoline from a MOBIL®service station, the operator may wish to be alerted to MOBIL® stationsonly. Such functionality can be used in conjunction with the fuelmonitoring functionality discussed in more detail below. Similarly,operators who prefer a specific type of restaurant or hotel may alsoprogram their filter in accordance with such preferences such that onlydesired information is passed to the display 32 of receiver 20.

The amplifier 42 of receiver 20 is provided for processing audio signalsprovided to speaker 44 as known to those skilled in the art for suchfunctions as impedance matching, amplitude and/or frequency modulation,noise suppression, electrical isolation and the like.

In an exemplary embodiment, display 32 of receiver 20 may be a liquidcrystal display (LCD) having a “touch-screen” interface. The display 32provides the cartographical location as well as dynamic contentpertaining thereto, and visible indicia of selected control parameters.The display 32 includes processing circuitry such as an on screendisplay (OSD) circuit for providing textual data to the display 32 suchthat control parameters are still visible during use. In an alternativeembodiment, the processing circuitry of display 32 may further includevideo processing circuitry for presenting video images for viewinganalog and/or digital video signals to the display 32.

An exemplary control interface 36 includes control panel or “controls”36 (shown best in FIG. 3) of receiver 20. The controls 36 provide anoperator means for adjusting and/or entering control parameters toprovide or adjust programmed routes and destination selection. In anexemplary embodiment, the controls 36 are provided as an alternativeand/or additional source of control to that of the touch-screen display32 and SRM 29. In an exemplary embodiment, the controls 36 areilluminated push-button switches for low-level lighting uses, howeverthose skilled in the art will recognize that the function of controls 36can be performed by any number of switching technologies includingtransmitted control parameters provided to control interface 36 via awireless communication device (not shown).

The dynamic content receiver or “communication module” 28 is an RFcommunication module in the exemplary embodiment. The dynamic contentsignal of DCPTS 10 may be a satellite radio signal or a cellular signal.The dynamic content receiver 28 includes an antenna for detecting thedynamic content signal of DCPTS 10. The dynamic content receiver isresponsive to the dynamic content signal of DCPTS 10 for providingdynamic content to Integrated receiver 20. Those skilled in the artrecognize that content receiver 28 may be a digital receiver forreceiving a digital signal.

Analog to digital (A/D) converter 40 receives dynamic content in analogform from dynamic content receiver 28 and converts it to a digitalparameter for data processor 38. Those skilled in the art will recognizethat converter 40 may be omitted where the dynamic content signal istransmitted in digital form.

In the exemplary embodiment, local power supply 26 is a rechargeablepower supply such as a nickel-metal hydride or lithium ion cell. In theexemplary embodiment the power supply 26 of Integrated receiver 20 maybe recharged by connecting the Integrated receiver 20 to a source ofpower (i.e., an automotive instrument panel or an automobile cigarettelighter power adapter also not shown).

The DCPTS 10 is a transmitting station. In the exemplary embodiment, theDCPTS 10 is an RF source providing dynamic content to a receiver 20. TheDCPTS 10 may be a dedicated transmitter serving a specific geographicregion, or a universal transmitter such as a satellite serving arelatively large geographic region. In the exemplary embodiment, afilter of dynamic content receiver 28 determines the dynamic content tobe utilized from a universal DCPTS 10. In an alternative embodiment, thefilter may be an adaptive filter for changing filtering characteristicsas the receiver 20 moves between regions of dedicated DCPTS's 10.

III. Integrated Display

Referring now to FIG. 3, display 32 of Integrated receiver 20 is showndisplaying cartographical and dynamic data content. The receiver 20 isshown mounted to an instrument panel 50 (shown cut-away) of automobile5. The control interface 36 provides means for inputting data to theIntegrated receiver 20. A receiver location 54, is designated by the “X”on display 32. A traveled route or primary cartographical route 62 isshown on display 32 and designated by arrowheads 64. An alternativecartographical route 62 is shown on display 32, and designated by adashed border 66. Hospitality venues 58 are shown along thecartographical routes. A touch-screen sub-menu 48 is displayed foraccessing further dynamic content (described below)

Referring now to FIG. 4, an enlarged display 32 of FIG. 3 is shown. Byselecting the appropriate area of touch-screen sub-menu 48, section 30 ais directed to hospitality dynamic content and section 30 b is directedto traffic content, fuel level of the automobile and other data of localinterest, the operator can access informational menus providing furtherdynamic content data (not shown). For example, the operator may beprovided with a phone number, price data or “no vacancy” notice uponaccessing the specific sub-menu relating to venue 58 SLEEPY TIME HOTEL,or menu selections and pricing for SCOTT'S RIB SHACK or the location ofnearby refueling stations, identified by brand and price, when the fuellevel falls below a predetermined amount.

For example, in use, an operator selects the hospitality venue SCOTT'SRIB SHACK by way of the touch screen display and/or control interface36. When selected, the display 32 is then highlighted in the vicinity ofthe venue as indicated by the dashed box 58 a. Once selected, theoperator may access sub-menu section 30 a for accessing more specificinformation, such as hours of operation, rating of the services,menu/lodging rates and available discounts to operators of receiver 20transmitted to memory 34 as dynamic content. In the exemplaryembodiment, the menus and visible display of hospitality venues mayinclude proprietary designs and marks licensed for operators of receiver20 in accordance with the present invention.

As designated by the arrowheads 64, a cartographical route 62 presentlybeing traveled on, or selected by the operator as part of a primaryroute to a destination is indicated as having a congested trafficpattern. An alternative route cartographical route 62 is shown havingdashed lines 66 on display 32. An operator at location 54 can thenchoose to access the traffic report via sub-menu section 30 b todetermine the cause of the congestion (i.e., temporary or long term)prior to choosing the alternative cartographical route. Those skilled inthe art will recognize that congested patterns may similarly bedisplayed for any cartographical route in an cartographical display inaddition to primary routes and/or traveled routes.

Upon selecting the “traffic” sub-menu of display 32, the operator mayreceive a text-based report of a specific route or cartographical area,similarly, the operator may receive an audible report via speaker 44.The remaining portions of sub-menu 30 b are directed to other localinformation such as provided by area historical societies or chambers ofcommerce. The fuel status can be entered manually (i.e., after eachrefueling) or, may utilize a suitable interface to an automobile fuelmonitoring system (not shown).

IV. Method of Operation

An exemplary method of operating Integrated receiver 20 will now bedescribed in conjunction with FIGS. 5-6.

Referring to FIG. 5, an exemplary method of integrating dynamic contentwith cartographical data is shown. At step 72 an operator initializesthe receiver 20. At step 74 the operator is prompted to enter adestination (i.e., longitudinal or latitudinal coordinate) via SRM 29 orcontrol interface 36. At step 74, the operator may query memory 34 toidentify the coordinates of a desired cartographical location, this isdone by providing a U.S. postal zip code and/or address. If adestination is selected by the operator, in step 78 the receiver 20selects the dynamic content from DCPTS 10 corresponding to the primarycartographical route for display. If no primary route/destination isselected, at step 76 dynamic content within a predetermined distance isaccessed (e.g. 20 miles). If at step 80 a congested traffic pattern isdetected, arrowheads such as 64 or suitable indicia are produced aboutthe congested cartographical routes to alert the operator. If acongested pattern is displayed in step 80, an available alternativeroute is displayed via dashed lines 66 or suitable indicia for alertingthe operator as to an available detour to avoid the congested pattern.Where no congested patterns are detected, the method loops back to step74.

For example, an operator wishing to travel to a location, enters as muchinformation as possible about the location (i.e., street address, city,state, zip code). Cartographical information corresponding thedestination information, if any, is produced on display 32. The operatormay then, via control interface 36 and/or the touch-screen, enlarge therelevant portion of the display. Once enlarged, the operator can selectthe closest landmark, intersection or similar navigation point to serveas the destination coordinates, or simply accept the location producedby the memory 34. Once the destination is entered, the receiver 20receives dynamic content for integration with the cartographical routeto the destination and produces it for display 32. Where no destinationis selected by the operator, dynamic content is provided to the displayin accordance with the receivers detected location. In the exemplaryembodiment of the invention, the dynamic content may be transmitted withlongitudinal and latitudinal information to allow the receiver 20 tofilter out material that is irrelevant to the selected route.

Referring now to FIG. 6, a method of accessing dynamic content fromdisplay 32 is shown. In step 84, the touch screen is activated byselecting a venue such as designated by box 58 a in FIG. 4. In step 86,the sub-menu is accessed to provide further dynamic content with regardto the selected venue (in this example 58 a). At step 88, the furtherdynamic content is accessed via speaker 44 or display 32. At step 90,the operator may select a separate menu or venue. While the above methodis described for use with sub-menu section 30 a, the sub-menu 30 b mayalso be used in a similar manner. With sub-menu 30 b, an area of thedisplay may be selected for receiving a specific traffic report (i.e.,by intersection or highway) which would be provided to the operator astextual data via display 32 or audible data via speaker 44.

Although the exemplary system is described in terms of a hardwareimplementation, it is contemplated that some or all of the hardwarefunctionality may be practiced entirely in software running on a GPSsystem. This software may be embodied in a carrier such as magnetic oroptical disk or a radio frequency or audio frequency carrier wave.

It will be understood that various changes in the details, materials,and arrangements of the parts which have been described and illustratedabove in order to explain the nature of this invention may be made bythose skilled in the art without departing from the principle and scopeof the invention as recited in the following claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A global positioning system (GPS) for displayingstatic cartographical data in accordance with a GPS signal, the systemproviding dynamically updated data, comprising: a receiver responsive toa global positioning signal, the receiver having, a first communicationmodule responsive to a signal of a content provider, the contentprovider signal being defined as dynamic content, the dynamic contentincluding positional information, a data processor for integrating thedynamic content with the static cartographical data, and a displaydevice for displaying the integrated cartographical and dynamic content,whereby the dynamic content informs an operator of information relevantto the displayed cartographical data.
 2. The global positioning systemof claim 1, wherein the signal of the content provider is a radiofrequency (RF) signal.
 3. The global positioning system of claim 2,wherein the RF signal is a cellular transmission signal.
 4. The globalpositioning device of claim 1, wherein the display is a “touch-screen”interface.
 5. The global positioning device of claim 4, wherein theinformation includes information concerning hospitality venues.
 6. Theglobal positioning device of claim 5, wherein the hospitalityinformation includes pricing information.
 7. The global positioningdevice of claim 6, wherein information relevant to one of thehospitality venues is shown on the display device upon selecting an areaof the touch screen corresponding to the displayed cartographicallocation of the hospitality venue.
 8. The global positioning device ofclaim 1, wherein the dynamic content includes warnings of congestedtraffic patterns.
 9. The global positioning device of claim 8, whereinthe dynamic content includes alternative routes for avoiding thecongested traffic pattern, the alternative routes being shown on thedisplay device.
 10. The global positioning device of claim 9, whereinthe alternative routes and congested traffic patterns are designated assuch on the display device.
 11. A global positioning system (GPS) fordisplaying static cartographical data in accordance with a GPS signal,the system providing dynamically updated data, comprising: a receiverresponsive to a global positioning signal, the receiver having, a firstcommunication module responsive to a signal of a content provider, thecontent provider signal being defined as dynamic content, a filter fordistinguishing between local dynamic content and non-local dynamiccontent, a data processor for integrating the dynamic local content withthe static cartographical data, and a display device for displaying theintegrated cartographical and dynamic content, whereby the dynamiccontent informs an operator of information relevant to the displayedcartographical data.
 12. The global positioning system of claim 11,wherein the filter is programmable.
 13. The global positioning system ofclaim 12, wherein the filter can be programmed by an operator to rejectdynamic content which does not correspond to a desired type of content.14. The global positioning system of claim 13, wherein the type ofcontent is selected from a group consisting of hospitality venues andtraffic information.
 15. The global positioning system of claim 13,wherein the type of content can be further programmed to include aspecific brand name.
 16. A global positioning system (GPS) fordisplaying static cartographical data in accordance with GPS signals,the system providing dynamically updated data, comprising: a receivermeans for receiving a global positioning signal, the receiver meanshaving, communication means for receiving a signal of a contentprovider, the signal defining dynamic content, filter means fordistinguishing between local dynamic content and non-local dynamiccontent of the dynamic content signal, data processing means forintegrating the dynamic local content with the static cartographicaldata, and display means for displaying the integrated cartographicaldata and dynamic content, whereby the dynamic local content is providedto the global positioning system to dynamically inform an operator ofinformation relevant to the displayed cartographical data.